Remember the allure of ghost stories when you were a kid? Remember being a kid and there was a house in town that everyone told stories about? Stories that it was a haunted house. Or the people who lived there were "different" or spooky or scary? Remember ..you'd creep up to the front door on a dare? Knock on the front door? Ring the bell? Play 'ding dong, ditch"? The really 'wild kids' threw rocks at the windows or pulled other pranks?

I'd never heard the kids in Worthington considered a house on the south end of Worthington in the Davis Estate neighborhood "haunted." I don't have children. I wonder how many parents knew of their children's curiosity about the house at the edge of the cemetary. When I heard the story in the news I thought "that house isn't old enough to be haunted." It's in a post World War Two neighborhood. I think all the homes are cape cods, I showed a house up the street a couple of months ago. There are some great old houses in Worthington...none are haunted as far as I know. There are haunted "places" in Central Ohio...* including Thurber House in Columbus.

A carload of high school girls went to the Worthington Ohio Haunted House one night this week and one of the five girls was shot, twice.

The house is in Davis Estate, the man with the gun was named Allen Davis... but that's just a coincidence. Haunted house, cheerleader, back to school time, it all makes an interesting story. The headlines are all over the board and from all over the world:

"Prank gone awry stuns Worthington"* - Columbus Dispatch

"Teen Shot While Ghost-Hunting Was Having Harmless Fun, Father Says" - Fox News

The story before "The Story." -"Family long considered outsiders by neighbors" *

I have been working on an entry about "blight" for my Columbus Best Blog. Caron Mosey a REALTOR® in Michigan wrote a great blog article about Blight* It can be frustrating for neighbors.

One of my favorite movies growing up was "To Kill a Mockingbird" from the novel by the same name written by Harper Lee. It is the story of three children in a small town in Alabama during the Depression. Part of the story is about their curiosity about their reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley. The children, Jem, Dill, and Scout go out one night to try to peak into Boo Radley's back window. As Jem is sneaking up on the house a gun shot rings out from inside the house. No one is shot in 'Two Kill a Mockingbird.'

I'm not blaming the victim...in the current Worthington tragedy. Kids trespass on "spooky houses." Or houses like the Davis home. I Know I did as a kid. I believe most kids did. Did you?

As the Columbus Dispatch story shows the Davis family, including Allen Davis has been at odds with their neighbors and the city for years. "Family long considered outsiders by neighbors"* says: A neighbor, who refused to give her name because she feared retribution for speaking out, called the shooting a tragedy for everyone. "I feel terrible for the high school student. I feel bad for Allen and his mother."

*Edit December 2011 NOT one single link in this post was still working. Most went to articles in the Columbus Dispatch but were redirected to error pages. Broke those links. Fixed the link to me on my company website.

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.